EB Forum

by **Nemesis01** on Thu Mar 22, 2012 2:53 pm

Hey there just thought I would ask some fellow Canadians about their experiences with importing prints and what to expect in terms of duties/taxes etc...can't find very much information about this online.

Generally I have avoided alot of customs fees in the past by marking down value on items but I am just making my first print purchase so I am not sure if it is to risky to do this with something as fragile as a print and worth large sums of money (as it wont be covered in full by the insurance if lost etc). Do you guys have any tips/tricks to help with customs or any suggestions on this? Thanks!

by **jmacd** on Thu Mar 22, 2012 3:18 pm

paying custom duty sucks but well worth it if prints/tubes arrive damaged. anything under a $100 i dont normally ask for insurance and ask to mark it as a gift and it seems to get through without get "dutied". anything over that i usually get dutied on. just really sucks if you have a valuable print show up damaged and you only put a small value down for the value of it as that's all you will get back for value of the print. if i sell, i tell the folks i mark the full value down so it is covered by insurance. if they decide not to, its their call but if it ends up damaged or goes missing, sorry about your luck. my 0.02 . . .

by **bethemonkey** on Thu Mar 22, 2012 3:25 pm

All of us Canadian EB'ers should get a Post office box in the US.. Buffalo for example and then ship out the prints to the others as they arrive.
We all split the cost, but someone has to go down there at least once a month and then re-ship them.

by **Nemesis01** on Thu Mar 22, 2012 3:25 pm

Is it possible to just *ahem* ...adjust the facts a little bit (yes I know it is not the "right" thing to do

). For example are there taxes and duties on prints which were done in America or Canada? Or couldn't one just describe it as a "hand made print"...which would put it under the original art category rather then a simple replica...honestly how the heck would they know how the art was actually produced unless they go to great lengths...

by **bethemonkey** on Thu Mar 22, 2012 3:30 pm

They charge you on the value of the print or item... it does not matter. So a $100 print gets taxed at 13% plus a $9 handling fee and don't get me started on UPS.

Nemesis01 wrote:Is it possible to just *ahem* ...adjust the facts a little bit (yes I know it is not the "right" thing to do ). For example are there taxes and duties on prints which were done in America or Canada? Or couldn't one just describe it as a "hand made print"...which would put it under the original art category rather then a simple replica...honestly how the heck would they know how the art was actually produced unless they go to great lengths...

by **bethemonkey** on Thu Mar 22, 2012 3:32 pm

On a side note, items from the UK don't get the same treatment at least for the ones I have received. They seem to pass through.

by **tourist504** on Thu Mar 22, 2012 3:32 pm

Good luck. :hanging:

by **Nemesis01** on Thu Mar 22, 2012 3:32 pm

I hate how trying to find CLEAR information on this stuff is almost impossible...I thought I had read that things created in America or Canada are not subject to any customs...and that "original art works" are not subject to any tax or duties...sounds to good to be true though

by **jmacd** on Thu Mar 22, 2012 3:34 pm

[quote="bethemonkey"]and don't get me started on UPS.[quote] or FedEx, for that matter as i have to go and pick up an $80 that has $21.96 on it . . . . :evil:

by **Nemesis01** on Thu Mar 22, 2012 3:35 pm

So I guess also just marking it as a gift is out of the question as well....your still getting taxed correct?

by **bethemonkey** on Thu Mar 22, 2012 3:37 pm

Just tell the buyer to put a value of $0 or less I think the point were they start adding taxes etc ios $50.
These are not custom fees... just tax... UPS, FedEx charge brokerage fees ontop of these taxes.

Nemesis01 wrote:So I guess also just marking it as a gift is out of the question as well....your still getting taxed correct?

by **Nemesis01** on Thu Mar 22, 2012 3:42 pm

Yeah I think that is what I am gonna do...I guess I will just take the risk and hope that nothing happens to it...haven't had a bad experience yet with things being shipped to me and I hope it stays that way.

by **bethemonkey** on Thu Mar 22, 2012 3:45 pm

I have had one, but that's becasue of a crappy tube. JUst make sure it a good tube and shipping ground is never more than $10. If you have them ship priority then it could be as high as $30. WIth priority it goes through the airport and gets looked at a bit more than ground I have found.

We gets screwed big time when we have to ship to the US.

Nemesis01 wrote:Yeah I think that is what I am gonna do...I guess I will just take the risk and hope that nothing happens to it...haven't had a bad experience yet with things being shipped to me and I hope it stays that way.

by **veltri** on Thu Mar 22, 2012 4:34 pm

Posters have no duty charges but will get charged tax if caught at the border. (rate depending on the province, usually 13-15% tax).
Something like a purse on the other hand gets charged duties (about 11%) and taxes (13-15%)

Merchandise value $20 or less has no duties or taxes.
Gifts value $60 or less no duties or taxes.

Example: Gift of $100. Tax is charged on a value of $40 (100-60). So you pay about $5 tax plus Canada post handling fee of $9.

In my experince flat shipments always get charged.
Priority gets charged more often than not.
First Class tubes hardly ever gets charged.
UPS and Fedex always get charged, and the handling fees are $25-$35 or more instead of Canada Post's $9.

by **Nemesis01** on Thu Mar 22, 2012 4:44 pm

So if I get something shipped first class it has the least chance of me being charged taxes on top of it?

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